Mkuze Interchange CULTURAL HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF MKUZE INTERCHANGE ON NATIONAL ROUTE 2, SECTION 31 (KM29.30), MKUZE, JOZINI LOCAL MUNICIPALITY FOR: ENVIROEDGE Frans Prins MA (Archaeology) Hester Roodt BA (Hons) Archaeology; Hons (Anatomy) P.O. Box 947 Howick 3290 [email protected] 30 December 2014 Fax: 0867636380 www.activeheritage.webs.com Active Heritage for Enviroedge i Mkuze Interchange TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT .............................................................. 1 1.1. Details of the area surveyed: ........................................................................................... 2 2 BACKGROUND TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF AREA ............................................. 2 3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE SURVEY ................................................................ 6 3.1 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Restrictions encountered during the survey ..................................................................... 7 3.2.1 Visibility ........................................................................................................................ 7 3.2.2 Disturbance .................................................................................................................. 7 3.3 Details of equipment used in the survey ........................................................................... 7 4 DESCRIPTION OF SITES AND MATERIAL OBSERVED ........................................................ 7 4.1 Locational data ................................................................................................................ 7 5 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE (HERITAGE VALUE) ......................................................... 8 5.1 Field Rating...................................................................................................................... 9 6 RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................... 10 7 RISK PREVENTATIVE MEASURES ASSOCIATED WITH CONSTRUCTION ...................... 10 8 MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS ................................................................................................ 11 9 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 15 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Background information ................................................................................. 1 Table 2. Evaluation and statement of significance…………………………………………5 Table 3. Field rating and recommended grading of sites (SAHRA 2005) ...................... 9 Active Heritage for Enviroedge ii Mkuze Interchange LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS EIA Early Iron Age ESA Early Stone Age HISTORIC PERIOD Since the arrival of the white settlers - c. AD 1820 in this part of the country IRON AGE Early Iron Age AD 200 - AD 1000 Late Iron Age AD 1000 - AD 1830 IIA Intermediate Iron Age ISA Intermediate Stone Age LIA Late Iron Age LSA Late Stone Age MSA Middle Stone Age NEMA National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998 and associated regulations (2006). NHRA National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999) and associated regulations (2000) SAHRA South African Heritage Resources Agency STONE AGE Early Stone Age 2 000 000 - 250 000 BP Middle Stone Age 250 000 - 25 000 BP Late Stone Age 30 000 - until c. AD 200 Active Heritage for Enviroedge iii Mkuze Interchange EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A cultural heritage survey of a proposed construction of the Mkuze Interchange on National Route 2, Section 31 (KM29.30), Mkuze, Jozini Local Municipality produced no heritage sites. The area is also not part of any known cultural landscape. There is no known archaeological reason why the development may not proceed as planned. However, it should be noted that the general area is rich in archaeological and contemporary grave sites. Construction work may expose material and attention is drawn to the South African Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999) and the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act (Act no 4 of 2008) which, requires that operations that expose archaeological or historical remains should cease immediately, pending evaluation by the provincial heritage agency. 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT Table 1. Background information Consultant: F Prins & H Roodt (Active Heritage cc ) for Enviroedge Type of development: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has proposed the construction of the Mkuze Interchange on National Route 2 section 31 (km 29.30). The project area is located at the National Route 2 (N2-31) and P234 junction at 27°37'28.78"S 32° 1'35.47"E. This is the main entrance into Mkuze town and is situated within Ward 20 of the Jozini Local Municipality. The project aims to provide an improved and safer access for vehicles entering and exiting Mkuze while accommodating both current and predicted traffic volumes and pedestrian activity. The proposed Mkuze Interchange consists of the following components: • The strengthening of the existing road pavements • The addition of an access interchange with a grade separated bridge including new cross roads • Various alternative layouts for the interchange will be investigated throughout the process • The investigation of taking the N2 over the cross road P234 • The addition of taxi lay byes and market stalls • The addition of two on ramps and two off ramps (north and south) • The adding and lengthening of drainage structures • Possible 6.5m wide temporary deviation to accommodate two-way traffic during construction • New road signs for the Mkuze Interchange • Borrow pit and quarry investigations for gravel and rock materials Active Heritage cc for Enviroedge 1 Mkuze Interchange • Potential improvements to street lighting Rezoning or subdivision: Not applicable Terms of reference To carry out a Heritage Impact Assessment as subcontracted by Enviroedge Legislative requirements: The Heritage Impact Assessment was carried out in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) and following the requirements of the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999) (NHRA) and the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act, 1997 (Act No. 4 of 2008) 1.1. Details of the area surveyed: The project area is located at the National Route 2 (N2-31) and P234 junction at 27°37'28.78"S 32° 1'35.47"E. This is the main entrance into Mkuze town and is situated within Ward 20 of the Jozini Local Municipality (Fig 1). 2 BACKGROUND TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF AREA Mkuze is situated in the southern part of the greater Maputaland – an area endowed with heritage sites of various traditions and periods spanning the Stone Ages, Iron Ages and the historical period. However, the majority of these occur to the west of the Phongola river in the foothills of the Lebombo Mountains. A second large concentration occurs adjacent to and on the dune gordon along the coastline. The coastal plain, by contrast to the rest of Maputaland, is devoid of known archaeological sites. Oliver Davies, an archaeologist who conducted pioneer research and surveys in northern KwaZulu Natal in the 1960’s and 1970’s, commented that the coastal plain was unpromising for archaeological research due to its being covered by superficial sands and bush coverage which affect preservation and visibility (Avery 1980). By contrast, the foothills of the Lebombo in the vicinity of Mkuze and Ingwavuma is well endowed with archaeological sites. The provincial heritage data base of the KwaZulu- Natal Museum lists twenty nine sites in this general area. These include Early Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age and Later Iron Age sites. Based on typological criteria it can be speculated that the known Early Stone Age sites in the greater Mkuze area most probably dates back to between 300 000 and 1.7 Active Heritage cc for Enviroedge 2 Mkuze Interchange million years ago. Some of the stone tools have been identified as belonging to the Acheulian tradition and it is therefore possible that these sites were occupied by an early hominin such as Homo erectus or Homo ergaster. Middle Stone Age Sites dates back to ca. 40 000 - 200 000 BP. These sites relate to the first anatomically modern people in the world namely Homo sapiens sapiens. Most of the Middle Stone Age sites in the greater Maputaland are open air stone tool scatters with little archaeological context. However, some notable cave deposits do occur. The world renowned Border Cave Site, situated approximately 65km to the north of the town of Ingwavuma, is a good example. Humans lived at Border Cave over a period of 200 000 years. The human skeletal remains found in the cave are believed to be some of the oldest evidence of anatomically modern human beings. Various radiometric-dating techniques suggest that Middle Stone Age people were living at Border Cave more than 110 000 years ago. More than a million stone artefacts have been excavated in the cave and an enormous amount if animal material has been recovered from the site as well (Derwent 2006). Only a handful of Later Stone Age sites have been recorded in the greater Maputaland. These relate to San hunter-gatherers or their immediate ancestors. The stone tool technology are smaller and more diverse and specialised than those made during the Middle Stone Age. The Early Iron Age of the coastal zone